Hey! So, I said I might make a list of Fire Emblem modding links, so here it is! Before anything, be sure you have a hacked 3DS so you can mod your games. You can load mods directly onto a hacked 3DS OR you can use a hacked 3DS to dump your games and play them on an emulator.
If you haven't hacked your 3DS yet, follow this guide to do so! It's easy and super safe!
I would highly recommend using a hacked 3DS as citra was taken down. Of course, if you can find a branch of citra to use or another emulator, feel free to try. Just be aware that emulators can be demanding and not all games function great.
Now, as for game modding, here are a few of my favorite things to use as well as some interesting mods others enjoy. Feel free to share mods you enjoy and I'll add them to this list.
General Modding
Paragon - This in and of itself is not a mod. However, if you're interested in dipping your toes in trying to create your own mods, this is a good starting point! This tool provides you with a friendly user interface to mess with the code of the game and create your own custom mods (don't worry, you don't need to know how to code).
Fire Emblem Awakening
Unofficial Gay Awakening - As the name says it adds gay supports in Awakening. I can't really add anything here.
Project Thabes - This is an overhaul of Awakening, akin to a sort of remix. The idea is fixing up some issues with story, rebalancing, and remixing maps. Definitely an interesting project to check out if you want a fresh experience with the game.
Twin Morgans - Y'know. If you want double the Morgan. :)
Reverse Recruitment Order - Excluding Chrom, Robin, and Lucina, all units are obtained in reverse order. Something fun to mix up your game.
Fates Stances - If you came to really love the stance system in Fates, good news! This mod implements the stance system into Awakening. Yeah, it's less broken, but way more fun.
Gender-Lock Removal - You want male pegasus knights and female barbarians? Here they are. Need I say more?
Gender Neutral Robin - For the fellow nonbinary gamers who wish for a gender neutral experience. A mod that removes all gendered text for Robin, turning it gender neutral.
Sexualization Removal - Women now have pants :)
No Ambush Reinforcements - The worst part of playing Awakening on any difficulty outside normal is that enemies act the same turn they spawn. This mod removes of that ridiculous (and honestly unfair) mechanic.
Fire Emblem Fates
Unofficial Gay Fates - It's as the name says: a mod to add gay supports to Fates. Though it's not just gay, it also generally adds additional supports between characters.
Ignis - This is a Fates randomizer that allows you to customize your own experience. This can randomize recruitment order, chest/village items, skills, classes, stats, and so on. I've been using this for years, so I can vouch for its fun and stability.
Fates HD - Just a mod to upscale textures. Meant for people playing the game on citra, not hardware.
Before Fates - This mod is currently a work in progress, but it's meant to expand the backstory in Fates. While it's incomplete, it's definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Fates Retranslation+ - If you kinda hate the translation of Fates, good news! This mod retranslates the entire game to better match the original Japanese version. It also adds some minor patches, but the idea of this mod is to fix the English translation.
Princess Personals - Legendary weapons for the princesses. Because they earned it. :)
Non-Binary Corrin - For all my non-binary pals out there, someone made a mod to make all references to Corrin gender-neutral. (Note: the mod creator is remaking the mod due to some issues.)
Playable Lilith - Do you love Lilith? Sad that she's stuck being killed off in routes and is otherwise unplayable? Well, this mod adds her as a playable character. Do it for her.
Face-Lift - This mod does some edits to characters to update things like skin tones and eye colors to look more natural/better match parents (like giving Benny darker skin rather than grey skin). It has a regular version for hardware and HD version for citra users who like having the HD mod.
Sexualization Removal - Women can finally have pants :)
Kana Promotion Outfits - A personal favorite of mine: this mod gives Kana actual unique promotion outfits. Their silly little bandana will never leave us.
Everything is Silver - Unlike the other Fates mods here, this is just a silly little challenge mod I made. It gives every weapon the silver weapon flag, causing them to debuff you after combat. It's a fun challenge run that may force you to come at the game from a new angle.
Fire Emblem Echoes
Route Swap - Just a funky little mod that swaps the two parties. So now Celica and crew are on Alm's journey and vice versa.
Model + Texture Overhaul - This mod does small fixes to texture errors and inconsistencies as well as adding some new unique models.
Echoes: RG Edition - This mod adds some new classes including a player axe user class. The additional classes can make an interesting new experience for players, not to mention this mod adds some new difficulty to the game.
Playable Berkut and Fernand - As stated in the title, you'll be able to use Berkut and Fernand should you so desire.
7-Eleven Collab Enabler - Are you aware of the Japan-only limited time 7-Eleven collab with SoV? Well, if you weren't now you are. And you can access these items.
Gender-lock Removal - Gender locked classes have always been an issue in Fire Emblem. But now you can remove that restriction with this mod. Not only are classes unrestricted, but the Ram Village boys now have a triangle attack.
Installing Mods
3DS
Assuming your 3DS is hacked, you should be using luma to mod games. Once you have your mod files, installing them is extremely easy. Load up your SD card and go into luma > titles and create a folder with the corresponding title id to your game.
Once you have a folder for your game, drop the mod files within (remember to unzip them, and they should be a romfs folder). If done correctly, it should look something like this.
There's one final step before you run your modded game, though! Reinsert your SD card in your 3DS and then hold SELECT while powering the console on. The luma config menu should come up. Select "Enable game patching" then press START to save.
You only ever have to do this luma step once. So once you've enable game patching, you can freely switch out mods on your 3DS and they'll run automatically. If you want to disable mods, either delete them from your SD card or disable game patching.
Citra
Just like with hardware, modding games on citra is extremely easy. All you have to do is open citra, right click the game you want to mod, and click "Open Mods Location" from the menu like below.
This will create/open a mod folder for the title you selected. Just like on the 3DS, all you have to do is insert your mod folder here. It should be inside a romfs folder like below.
If you did everything correctly, then your mods should take effect when you next run your game on citra.
I really do think many Fire Emblem fans are lowkey irony poisoned and addicted/heavily attached to sardonic, cynical and rigid views and perceptions of storytelling, and you can tell by the way most of them describe Engage as "campy" "cheesy" "self aware, turn-your-brain off fun" when... it's really not. The plot of Engage has themes, purposes, serious moments, an overarching point, etc. I theorize that they call it campy because they can't handle/aren't used to/don't like things that are extremely sincere.
Every FE game has funny moments, every FE game has hype moments, every game has magical, high fantasy tropes, and-most importantly-almost every game name drops 'Fire Emblem' within their stories at some point.
The only thing that Engage has that sets it apart is its fun intro song and the final cutscene when summoning all the Emblems again (which even then, it's basically the Emblems' own version of final map dialogue tbh).
Like, I know people describe Engage in these light hearted ways as a compliment, but even then it reads backhanded lol.
